Animals in the Southern African sub-region are faced with unpredictable seasonal rainfall patterns and unpredictably low resource availability due to the influence of the El Nino Southern Oscillation System. This has led to conservative energetic traits in animals that offset the costs of maintaining homeostasis in the unpredictable environments they inhabit. One of these animals is the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis). Past research has looked at the thermoregulation of rock hyrax in the laboratory. Results indicated that rock hyrax had labile body temperatures that reached lethal levels at ambient temperatures above 39°C. Laboratory studies separate endogenous thermoregulation from behavioural thermoregulation and do not reflect the overall thermoregulatory potential of the rock hyrax in maintaining body temperatures. This study looked at the thermoregulation of rock hyrax in their natural environment. Body temperatures were measured in the field using Thermochron iButtons inserted into the intraperitonial cavity of the animals. Behavioural observations were also recorded on subgroups and individually marked animals. Rock hyraxes were exposed to large fluctuations in ambient temperatures and food availability during the course of this study. In winter, ambient temperatures ranged between 5-25°C and in summer between 18-42°C. Our results show that rock hyrax seasonally and daily altered both their physiological and behavioural thermoregulation to control body temperature efficiently. The physiological alterations observed in rock hyrax differed between winter and summer. During winter, when food availability was low, rock hyrax maintained body temperatures at a lowered level relative to summer. Body temperatures fluctuated to a greater extent during winter as a result of reduced body temperatures at night and increased body temperatures due to basking during the diurnal hours. During summer, rock hyrax displayed high body temperatures, which reached hyperthermic levels. This enabled rock hyrax to forage during midday hours since heat loads could be easily dissipated through passive conduction in the cooler rock crevices. Rock hyrax employed different behavioural patterns in winter and summer. It is proposed that rock hyraxes are unable to meet energetic demands on a low quality and patchy food resource under low ambient temperatures. Predation is also a cost to foraging and becomes increasingly important when rock hyraxes have to move large distances away from crevices to find food. The most frequent behaviour recorded in rock hyrax during winter was basking. Basking enabled rock hyrax to maintain body temperatures with very little thermoregulatory cost. Differences were also recorded in behavioural patterns in rock hyrax of different sizes. Juveniles, due to their small body size and high energetic demands foraged more frequently than adult rock hyrax. During summer, rock hyrax spent considerable time in the rock crevices. This was because ambient temperatures exceeded the upper limit of the thermoneutral zone of the rock hyrax throughout most of the day. Rock hyrax therefore escaped the excessive temperatures by utilizing the cooler rock crevices, which remained at temperatures within the rock hyraxes thermoneutral zone. The most frequent behaviour recorded in rock hyrax aboveground was foraging. Since forage was abundant around the rock crevices during summer, predation risk was less of a factor influencing foraging behaviour. Since basking is an essential component of the rock hyraxes thermal biology during winter we examined basking behaviour in more detail. Basking in the morning was not used to increase body temperatures from hypothermic levels as otherwise thought. Instead, it was used to maintain body temperatures at low ambient temperatures by altering posture, orientation to the sun and basking bout lengths. During the early morning, when heating rates were greatest, rock hyrax orientated their bodies exposing the greatest surface area to solar radiation. During midday, reduced basking bout lengths and the reduction of surface areas exposed to the sun reduced the heat loads during the hottest parts of the day. Rock hyrax appeared to utilize the warm rock surfaces during the late afternoon when the sun was setting to maintain body temperatures before entering the crevices for the night. The combination of physiological and behavioural thermoregulation therefore enables rock hyrax to maintain homeostasis with very little energetic costs in an environment that displays variability in both ambient temperatures and resource availability. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2006. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 107 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This study compared biofeedback assisted cue-controlled skin temperature training with skin temperature biofeedback training in subjects attempting to raise the digital skin temperature of their dominant hand. In addition to classification according to training, the subjects were also divided into two diagnostic groups. One group was composed of subjects with cold hands and Raynaud's disease while the other group consisted of nonRaynaud's disease cold handed subjects. The treatment and diagnostic groups were compared along the dimensions of amount of posttreatment digital skin temperature change and degree of generalization of digital skin temperature control to a cold room challenge task.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Brain responds to an array of diverse challenges that are defined as either exteroceptive stress, involving cognitive processing of sensory information from the external environment and or interoceptive stress, detected through sensory neural or chemical cues from the internal environment. The physiological response to most stresses consists of autonomic responses that are essential for animal survival in the face of a threatening circumstance. However, it is known that exposition to continuous situations of stress is involved in the development of a series of diseases such as hypertension, myocardial infarction and panic syndrome. Several studies have shown that cells in a specific area of the brain, the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH), are involved in the response produced during emotional stress. However, the role of glutamatergic transmission in the DMH in the increase in body temperature induced by experimental stress has not been examined. Research findings thus far indicate that neurons in the DMH play a role in thermoregulation and that local glutamate receptors may be involved. The hypothesis of this thesis is that activity at ionotropic glutamate receptors in the DMH is necessary for the thermogenic response induced by experimental stress. In the present work, microinjections of kynurenate, an excitatory amino acid antagonist, NBQX (2, 3-dihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulfamoyl-benzo[f]quinoxaline-2,3-dione), an AMPA/kainate receptor antagonist, DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV), an NMDA receptor antagonist, and a mixture of NBQX and APV, were delivered to the DMH before exposure to experimental stress. The stress paradigms used include models for exteroceptive stress and interoceptive stress. The results show that inhibition of both NMDA and non-NMDA receptors is necessary to abolish the thermogenic response produced by all stress paradigms tested. Furthermore, there appears to be a difference in the degree of attenuation of the thermogenic response produced by either inhibition of NMDA receptors or non-NMDA receptors. Together these results support a definite role for ionotropic glutamate receptors within DMH region in the thermogenic response to stress. These results also finally show that the DMH is involved in all the major physiological stress responses including increase in plasma ACTH, increase in heart rate, blood pressure and now temperature as well.

Achievement of endothernic capacity is vital for independence from ambient temperature changes, sustained activity, optimal biochemical reactions and optimization of parental care. During early avian development, the core tenets of transition from ectothermy to endothermy are development of metabolic capacity (oxygen consumption, mitochondrial bioenergetics), enhanced cardiovascular function (heart rate and cardiac output), pulmonary ventilation and thermogenic capacity. Thyroid hormones, particularly T3, are key metabolic regulators of basal metabolism, thermogenesis, pulmonary ventilation and mitochondrial respiration. Thyroid hormone fluctuation patterns during both precocial and altricial avian endothermic transition suggest a prominent role in maturation of endothermy, cardiovascular, respiratory and skeletal muscle physiology. This body of work explores effects of T3 manipulations in two avian species: the precocial Pekin duck and the altricial Red-winged Blackbird. Increased plasma T3 during late incubation resulted in increased cardiac mass, elevated resting and intrinsic heart rate, intrinsic mean arterial pressure, increased cholinergic tone and blunted alpha-adrenergic tone in the precocial Pekin duck. In both Pekin duck and Red-winged blackbird, plasma T3 levels correlated with changes in the trajectory of endothermic ontogeny, systemic oxygen consumption, thermogenesis, maturation of pulmonary ventilatory function, altered growth and effects on skeletal and cardiac mitochondrial bioenergetics. These observations support the role of thyroid hormones as metabolic and developmental regulators at the time of attainment of endothermy during the perinatal period in precocial and altricial avian species. Insights into the role of thyroid hormone as a metabolic and development regulator at the time of avian endothermic attainment provide a more thorough understanding of metabolic and physical transitions a hatchling bird must undergo to reach the adult endothermic phenotype. Such insights also deepen understanding of the complex role thyroid hormones play in homeostasis and offer implications about the evolutionary history of endothermic capacity.

As tecnologias, fortemente representadas pelos serious games na atualidade, têm ressignificado o processo de ensino-aprendizagem em saúde e enfermagem, contribuindo para o ensino participativo e mediando a aprendizagem não só de estudantes, mas também de profissionais e pacientes. Este estudo consistiu em pesquisa metodológica quanto ao desenvolvimento, baseado na técnica do design participativo, de um jogo educativo denominado e-Baby: avaliação clínica da termorregulação no recém-nascido pré-termo, bem como em um quase-experimento do tipo pré e pós-teste, ao avaliar o nível de aprendizado obtido pelos participantes antes e após uma intervenção, a qual consistiu em um curso semipresencial de 30 horas abordando o tema \'termorregulação do recém-nascido prematuro\' em associação com o jogo desenvolvido, que foi disponibilizado online durante todo o decorrer da atividade de educação permanente. Ao se compararem as médias do pós-teste e as do pré-teste (teste não paramétrico de Wilcoxon), verificou-se aprendizagem significativa pelos participantes (p = 0,0001). O jogo e-Baby voltado à avaliação clínica da termorregulação do recém-nascido pré-termo mostrou-se eficaz como instrumento de intervenção no processo de ensino-aprendizagem, despertando interesse e motivação em seus usuários / Information technology, today remarkably exemplified in serious games, has transformed the teaching-learning process in health and nursing, helping promote participative education and mediating the learning of students, professionals and patients. This study comprised a methodological investigation on the development, based on participative design, of the serious game e-Baby: Clinical Evaluation of Thermoregulation in the Preterm Neonate. A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test study assessed the level of learning available before and achieved after an intervention consisting of a combined on-site/on-line 30-hour refresher course on the topic of thermoregulation in preterm neonates, during which the game was made available online. Comparison between mean scores of post- and pre-assessments (Wilcoxon\'s non-parametric test) revealed significant learning gains (p = 0.0001). The e-Baby serious game for clinically assessing thermoregulation of preterm neonates proved effective as an intervention instrument in the teaching-learning process, sparking the interest and motivation of its users

The primary purpose of this doctoral dissertation was to investigate the effect of body temperature responses at physiologically relevant sites during an incremental exercise test on the phenomenon of exercise-induced hypoxemia (EIH). This phenomenon has been considered as an important limitation to physical performance with a prevalence of ~50 % in trained male athletes, but described in both sexes, across the range of both age and physical fitness in more recent literature. Previously this phenomenon has been described as a decrement in both arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO₂) and oxy-haemoglobin saturation (SaO₂or SpO₂) with, particularly important for PaO₂, a lack of or inappropriate correction made for the change in body temperature during intense exercise. The initial study of this thesis determined the thermal response within the body at physiologically relevant sites measured simultaneously during an incremental exercise test. The results demonstrated the inadequacy of rectal temperature as an indicator of the acute temperature changes occurring during an incremental exercise test due to its slow response rate and relative thermal inertia. Radial arterial blood and oesophageal temperatures were shown to behave almost identically during the exercise test, albeit with an offset of approximately 1.3ºC, and were considered much more appropriate and relevant indicators of thermal changes during exercise. As an extension of the initial work active muscle temperature (vastus lateralis) was measured during the exercise test, demonstrating a significantly lower resting temperature than the oft-reported “core” temperatures (rectal and oesophageal) as well as a significantly greater increase in temperature in comparison to all other measurement sites. Overall, the results of this first study indicated that the physiologically relevant temperatures measured at the oesophageal and muscle sites differed markedly to the outdated rectal temperature measurement site and should be used as measures of thermal response when evaluating oxygen loading (oesophageal) or unloading (active muscle). Utilising the definition of EIH as a decrease in PaO₂ of ≥ 10 mmHg, the effect of temperature correcting PaO₂ was evaluated in the second study. Arterial blood gases measured simultaneously to the temperature measurements during the incremental exercise test were adjusted for the temperature changes at each site (every 1ºC increase in temperature will increase a PaO₂ value by ~5 mmHg). Whilst uncorrected PaO₂ values indicated an almost 100% prevalence of EIH in this group, oesophageal temperature corrected PaO₂ values decreased this prevalence to ~50% while muscle temperature corrections resolved all cases of EIH and demonstrated an HYPEROXAEMIA (i.e. the reverse of the well-established phenomenon) in the majority of subjects. Further investigation of arterial oxygen content during the exercise test indicates that there is no disruption in the delivery of oxygen to the active muscles and therefore any performance decrement should be attributed to another mechanism. Whilst the phenomenon of EIH is determined by the definition applied and the use of temperature corrections in the case of PaO₂, its reproducibility in a test-retest situation had not previously been determined. Utilising a subset of previously tested subjects, the reproducibility of both temperature and PaO₂ were determined with results indicating that the blood gas response was highly reproducible, especially the minimum PaO₂ value noted during each exercise test. However, comparing a more statistically relevant definition of a change in PaO₂ of ± 2 standard deviations from the mean resting PaO₂ to the previous delimiter of 10 mmHg indicated a lesser reproducibility of the prevalence of EIH. In summary, this thesis exposes the inadequacies of previous research into EIH with regard to the expected reproducibility of the phenomenon and the need to correctly adjust PaO₂ values for exercise-induce hyperthermia as well as demonstrating the difference in thermal responses to acute exercise in physiologically significant areas of the body. Furthermore, previously described correlations between the change in PaO₂ and VO₂ max were not evident in the subjects tested within this thesis, nor was there any indication of a diffusion limitation based on reduced pulmonary capillary transit time (by association with VO₂ max) or pulmonary oedema (rebuked by a rapid return of PaO₂ to above resting levels following exercise cessation). / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1320633 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Medicine, 2008

The negative consequence of recent climate change on the Earth’s biodiversity has become more evident in recent years. Some animals, due to insularity or habitat fragmentation, are unable to shift their ranges altitudinally and latitudinally. Vulnerable species need to rely on behavioural and, more importantly, physiological responses in order to persist through present climatic changes. It has therefore become more obvious that physiological responses of individuals need to be incorporated into predictive models of the responses of mammals to accelerated climate change. The primary purpose of this study was to test the ‘Hyperthermic Daily Torpor’ hypothesis proposed recently by Lovegrove et al., (in press). The hypothesis suggests that, based on albeit limited evidence, some small mammals may be capable of hyperthermia induced hypometabolism equivalent to that experienced during torpor and hibernation in response to cold temperatures. These authors argue that such hyperthermic hypometabolism should reduce the risk of entry into pathological hyperthermia and also reduce the rate of water loss driven by heat-induced evaporative cooling. The reaction norms of desert mammals have been selected to be adaptive over a wide range of climatic conditions due to the unpredictability of their habitat. Thus, they are good models for testing the reaction norms that may be expressed in response to accelerated climate change. We therefore tested our hypothesis using two presumably heat-adapted desert rodents; the Namaqua rock mouse, Aethomys namaquensis, and the pygmy rock mouse, Petromyscus collinus, as model species. We used indirect respirometry to measure metabolic rate at high ambient temperatures. We progressively exposed the animals to high temperatures to induce thermal tolerance and thus minimize the risks of lethal hyperthermia. We also measured subcutaneous and core temperatures, using temperature-sensitive PIT tags (BioTherm Identipet) and modified iButtons (Maxim Integrated), respectively. A. namaquensis displayed the capacity for hyperthermia-induced hypometabolism (Q10 79 = 1.27 ± 1.61) whereas the P. collinus did not (Q10 = 2.45 ± 1.41). The implications of such a physiological response in A. namaquensis are crucial in terms of its capacity to minimize the risks of lethal, pathological hyperthermia. Recent models of endothermic responses to global warming based on ectothermic models predict a dichotomy in the thermoregulatory responses of mammals to high temperatures. This study, to our knowledge, provides some of the first data on these interspecific variations in the thermoregulatory responses of mammals to high temperatures. However, the different physiological responses to hyperthermia between these two species cannot be meaningfully interpreted without phylogenetically independent comparisons with other species, that is, a more expansive interspecific analysis. Nonetheless, we provide some autecological sketches to assist in future multivariate interspecific analyses. Physiological differences between captive or captive-bred and free-ranging mammals preclude the extrapolation of our findings to free-ranging mammals. It is almost impossible to collect MR data in the field, although a few authors have successfully done so, and it is often not feasible to collect Tb data in small free-ranging mammals. Most studies have therefore made use of externally-mounted temperature-sensitive data loggers in order to collect Tskin data as a proxy for Tcore data in free-ranging mammals. However, misleading gradients between Tskin and Tcore can occur if data loggers are placed too close to major-heat producing tissues and the effects of the external environment on these data loggers may result in large Tskin – Tcore gradients. The second objective of this thesis therefore was to test the validity of using subcutaneous temperatures (Tsub) from subcutaneously injected temperature-sensitive PIT tags as a proxy for Tcore using the Namaqua rock mouse, Aethomys namaquensis. We found that the difference between Tcore and Tsub was minimal (~ 0.34˚C) within the thermoneutral zone (TNZ) with slight, non-significant, differences outside the TNZ. There was a tendency for Tsub to underestimate Tcore below thermoneutrality and overestimate it above thermoneutrality. We attributed these differences to the various heat loss and heat gain mechanisms activated in response to heat and cold stress in order to maintain a setpoint Tb. Nevertheless, we found that the Tcore – Tskin differential never exceeded 1.59˚C above the wide 108 range of Tas (5˚ – 41˚C) measured. Thus, we can conclude that subcutaneous temperatures provide a reasonably reliable proxy for core temperature in small mammals. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Chickens, being open thermodynamic systems, maintain a constant exchange of energy and matter with their surrounding environment. In order to avoid reaching thermodynamic equilibrium with the environment the bird makes use of homeostatic mechanisms. These ensure the reduction of the entropy of the system to values that guarantee its integrality. The thermoregulatory response is a major component of the homeostatic machinery of living systems. This induces modifications of physiological parameters of the bird, taking the system “bird” to a new steady state. The achievement of this new state is possible only if the thermoregulatory mechanisms of the birds are able to counteract the environmental demand/burden. A successful thermoregulatory response depends not only on the achievement of that steady state, but also on the compatibility of the value of those parameters with life (especially regarding the value achieved by body temperature) as well as on the time of exposure to the environmental perturbation. Based on those premises, this thesis presents a mechanistic analysis of the thermal interaction between a broiler and its surroundings. The first section of the document introduces the reader to the general concepts of thermodynamics of living systems and physics of heat exchange. The second use mechanistic simulation techniques to represent the environment, the thermal and thermoregulatory properties of a broiler chicken and the interaction between bird and environment. Finally, the third section describes a conceptual simulation model able to predict, over a given period of time, the response of a bird to environmental conditions above those associated with least thermoregulatory effort. Various simulation exercises are reported, the objectives being to study the behaviour of certain variables and to question the validity of current theories of thermoregulation in environmental physiology. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

The leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis) is the largest of the southern African tortoise species and has a wide distribution range. However, there is a lack of ecological and physiological information about the species, especially arid and semi-arid regions. The Nama-Karoo, an arid region of South Africa, is subject to large fluctuations in rainfall, food availability and ambient temperatures (Ta). This study focused on the thermal behaviour, thermoregulatory, digestive and metabolic plasticity of the leopard tortoise within the Nama- Karoo biome. Seasonal changes in activity patterns and body temperature (Tb) were investigated in free ranging leopard tortoises in the Nama-Karoo. Leopard tortoises had unimodal daily activity patterns in winter, bimodal in summer, and there were daily and seasonal differences in the extent to which certain behaviours were practiced. Daily activity behaviours were executed at lower Tb and at lower Ta in winter compared to summer. In summer, core Tb of all tortoises oscillated on a daily basis well below maximum Ta, while core Tb of all tortoises in winter oscillated well above the daily Ta range. Tortoises were therefore able to maintain their Tb independently of Ta. Differences in Tb as measured from various positions on the tortoises body was investigated in relation to Ta. There was a strong seasonal and temporal influence on the relationship between various Tb’s, with the skin and external shell temperatures being more variable in response to fluctuating Ta’s compared with cloacal and core Tb. Cloacal temperatures were significantly different to other Tb measurements suggesting that it should be treated with circumspection as an exclusive measure of Tb. Heating and cooling rates of leopard tortoises were investigated in the field and under controlled laboratory conditions to determine if the tortoises maximise operational daily activity periods, and to determine the effect of behaviour and size on the rate of heat flux. In the laboratory, cooling rates were faster than heating rates in summer and winter for all size classes and decreased with increasing body mass. Leopard tortoises had significantly faster heating and cooling rates in winter than in summer. Free-ranging leopard tortoises had faster heating rates than cooling rates and their heat flux was largely independent of Ta. Heating and cooling rates were dependant on body mass and surface area-to-volume ratio of individuals. Under experimental conditions, tortoises physiologically adjusted their rate of heat flux, while free-ranging tortoises used physiological and behavioural mechanisms to minimise the risk of overheating, to aid thermal inertia and maximise operative activity time. Seasonal climatic cycles and fluctuating daily temperatures influence the oxygen consumption (VO2) of reptiles, however the result of these effects on metabolism in chelonians is poorly understood. The effect of seasonal and daily differences in Ta on VO2 was investigated. Leopard tortoises’ VO2 was slightly higher than reported for other chelonians. There were significant differences in tortoise VO2 at different Ta’s during the day and night and in different seasons. This metabolic plasticity is possibly an adaptive mechanism to cope with unpredictable environmental conditions. Unpredictable climatic conditions lead to unpredictable food and water availability. Little is known how tortoises adjust dietary parameters in response to food type and water availability, and if this affects body mass, energy and water balance. Therefore this study also considered whether leopard tortoises adjusted food transit rate, food intake and water loss to cope with a diet fluctuating in fibre and water content, and whether body mass, energy and water balance were maintained. Leopard tortoises fed a high fibre, low water content diet had lower food intake rates, longer food transit times, but lower daily energy assimilation compared with tortoises fed a low fibre, high water content diet. Tortoises fed a high fibre, low water content diet had lower urine osmolality, but similar total water loss to those fed a high fibre, low water content diet. The results indicate that tortoises can adjust digestive parameters according to diet composition and exercise some control over energy and water balance. It is concluded that leopard tortoises show a high degree of plasticity in their thermal behaviour and physiology which allows survival in an unpredictable environment, particularly where there are fluctuations in rainfall, food availability and Ta’s. Seasonal and daily variation in thermoregulation, metabolic rate and the uptake of energy allows the leopard tortoise to maximise the duration of operative temperature, to minimise energy loss and to use variable and unpredictable seasonal resources. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.